The Cove

Directed by: Louie Psihoyos

Featuring: Richard O'Barry, Louie Psihoyos, Simon Hutchins, Many-Rae Cruickshank, Kirk Krack, David Rastovich, and Scott Baker

At one point in this film, a narrator quotes one of the fishermen in the cove of Taiji, Japan as saying, "If the world knew what goes on here, we'd be shut down." One can only hope. I'm usually wary of propaganda films, even those with a message that's hard to argue, such as opposing the killings of thousands upon thousands of dolphins. Polarizing issues often leads to shutting people out and seems to preach to the audience rather than change the minds of those to whom it's directed (are you listening, Michael Moore?), but I forgive this film because the issue is so critical, and honestly, if I were making this film, I'm not sure I could do it any other way either.

Though this is undoubtably a heavy, hard-hitting documentary, The Cove is also surprisingly entertaining. The story with Richard O'Barry, who caught and trained the dolphins in the classic TV show "Flipper" is real and heart-breaking. This is a man who started out training dolphins for entertainment, and, after watching one of them literally die of depression in his arms, now devotes his life to setting free as many as he can, turning against the very people and organizations he once worked for. This is a story about a small group of people, led by O'Barry, with the courage to take direct action against the slaughter of thousands of dolphins in this one small cove in Japan. The scenes of them breaking into the cove under the cover of night, equipped with night vision goggles and walkie-talkies are exhilarating as we feel just how much is at stake and the importance of what they are fighting for. The footage they acquire is horrifying. The kind of scene you watch and wish you could retreat back into the comforts of fiction. How can this be real footage? How can so few people know about this? And how is it possible that this is still happening?

I don't just recommend this film, I beg you to see it. It hits at the heart of many dark and horrifying issues that we should all be crying out against vehemently.

It's Complicated

Directed by: Nancy Meyers

Starring: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, John Krasinski

I wish this film had made me laugh out loud more. Up in the Air is a comedy that kept me laughing and poked at our culture in all the right places, but this film falls short on every level. The big laughs here can all be credited to John Krisinski (made famous by his role as Jim in "The Office"), who plays the lovable son-in-law with his brilliantly unique and hilarious comedic timing. Although I will admit that, to my surprise, I found the scene where everyone (including the middle-aged love triangle) gets high at a party pretty hilarious. In the end, though, I found the story hard to relate to. I never felt comfortable with the affair between Streep's character and Baldwin's, and the comedy is big and blunt rather than smart and subtle. But, Meryl Streep is charming and natural, as always, and Steve Martin plays her love-interest with a sweet awkwardness. As an entertaining film, It's Complicated does its job but, except for Krasinski's scenes, it doesn't hit its comedic marks, and fades into the ranks of innumerable other mediocre rom-coms.

Recommendations

Dark City (1998)

Directed by: Alex Proyas

Starring: Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, Kiefer Sutherland, William

Hurt

If you love sci-fi, and I mean good sci-fi, Dark City is a treasure. Starring Rufus Sewell and Jennifer Connelly, this is a fascinating and thought-provoking film that always leaves me tingling with excitement at the imagery and imagination. If you want to take it a step further, I would suggest renting Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) to compare and contrast the two films. Metropolis is the film that started it all, and you'll find the messages shockingly applicable to today's social climate.

Brick (2005)

Directed by: Rian Johnson

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt,

Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Emilie de Ravin

If you missed Brick's quick and quiet release in 2005, or if your only memory of Joseph Gordon-Levitt is as an over-the-top, hardly promising young actor in Third Rock from the Sun, go check out this movie. This one film convinced me that Levitt is a truly talented actor. Additionally, if you have any interest in film noir, or even if you don't, this film is a great new addition to this classic genre. Set against the back drop of a high school in southern California, this is not a high school movie. It's dark, atmospheric, with cutting, often criptic dialogue and beautiful homages to old film noir (the scene at the end on the football field, pictured above, is as classic as it gets). This is a great example of post-modern film noir.

Invictus

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman

An unpopular opinion, I know, but I'll be honest: I've been lukewarm about Clint Eastwood lately. No one can deny he's a talented director and his heart is in the right place. However, I found The Grand Torino a huge disappointment, filled with stereotypes, cliches, and acting so stiff and calculated it was painful to watch. Roger Ebert noted that revenge is a theme in all of Eastwood's films. That's why this film put me back in the Clint Eastwood fan club, because this is a film about forgiveness. Consider this for just a moment: Nelson Mandella was in prison for 27 years. 27 YEARS. That's longer than I have been alive. Try to put yourself in that position for just a moment. Imagine that you have been oppressed, discriminated against, that you have watched people being murdered, been the victim of the most atrocious acts of hatred, and after 27 years of imprisonment by those very people, 27 years to stew on all those injustices, you come out with only one word on your lips: Forgive.

I am also thrilled to finally sit in a movie theater and watch a film about triumph in Africa. A film about empowerment from the inside out. Though I still wait for the day when this film will be made by South Africans, starring South Africans.

Avatar

Directed by: James Cameron

Starring: Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Sam Worthington

Go visit Roger Ebert or Manohla Dargis or...anyone else, apparently, and they will all disagree with my response to this film. But, I don't get paid the big bucks to agree with everyone, right? I started this film unengaged, silently daring James Cameron to convince me to get involved in the story. By the second act, I had to grudgingly admit that the polished and sweeping effects were being put to some use, creating a world where we could finally indulge in rich, sparkling fantasy, and I was melting. Finally, I thought, we are giving into imagination. When so many films are mired in gritty realism or jam-packed with action to cloak the vulnerability and depth of what true imagination and fantasy offers, this film took 20 minutes to allow us to experience another world, and it was beautiful. A message, though somewhat confused, about connection, nature and spirituality, James Cameron, you almost had me. Then the third act descended in a thunderous shower of bombs, gun-fire, destruction, and nihilism. Operating with all the subtlety and sensitivity of a nuclear bomb, Avatar screams out a message so confused and contradictory, it left me seething at its blatant ignorance.

In his review, Ebert writes, "You are free to find this an allegory about contemporary politics. Cameron obviously does." This is a terrifying thought. There is clearly a message here about foreign occupation and conquest, the destruction of other societies for the reward of resources. What does it say, then, that we are meant to enjoy watching US military being killed, with a graphic and sick ruthlessness that anyone who feels Iraq in the back of their minds should be deeply disturbed by? One of the characters, a grossly caricatured military general, states, "We fight terror with terror" a quote whose irony and applicability we are clearly meant to absorb. Yet, look at the final acts of this film, where the "terror" invoked by the military are matched with equal violence and hate which are meant to be applauded (and heartily were, in the theater I was in) by those of us watching. Can Cameron really claim to have a message of peace here?

What is fascinating is the way in which Avatar joins the ranks of a surprising number of recent films which, directly and indirectly, delve into the American psyche concerning the current state of many countries in Africa and, more specifically, our role therein. This film is as much about Africa as Invictus, though it may not be as obvious, and joins District-9 in an allegorical reinterpretation of such, through the telling of stories about aliens (literally). It portrays our guilt, inherited from the colonial legacy left by our ancestors, and our deep seeded fears about getting involved. Avatar and District-9 now join such films as Blood Diamond as horribly misguided, however well-intentioned, films concerning Africa which only perpetuate the stereotypes, simplifications, and misconceptions that contribute to the inability of countries in Africa to empower themselves. Stories are a crucial way for us to express ourselves and the freedom to tell your own story is an integral part of empowerment, in which case these films only further the oppression of developing nations.

And now I will step off my soap box...

Obviously, my critques here concern the content of the film, but Cameron's real fame comes from his cutting-edge visual technology, which I also found unimpressive (although I'll admit that I did love the planktonic and feathery seeds that drift through the air). To read an interesting (but scathing) article about this aspect of the film, check out Jim Emerson's blog at the Chicago-Sun Times: www.blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2009/12/avatar_plummets_into_the_uncan.html#more

Conclusion: There's no denying the breathtaking and ground-breaking effects, but those come with James Cameron territory. If you see this movie, watch it with a critical eye.

Up In the Air

Directed By: Jason Reitman

Starring: George Clooney, Anna Kendrick, Vera Farminga, Jason Bateman

I love movies like this. Movies where the characters actually talk like real people, actually respond and act with honesty and unscripted nuances rather than varnished cliches. In one scene, Clooney's character, Ryan Bingham, wakes up in bed to find the other side empty and his love interest getting ready to split. Even if you have not experienced this moment before, you still feel that sinking feeling in your stomach when you see it happen on screen, and it has become a painful, if over-used, scene. Alex Goran (Farminga) gives Bingham a look of mock sympathy and jokes, "Oh, I made you feel cheap." We were all thinking it. Finally someone said it. This is how the movie separates itself, by greeting cliches with biting and witty one-liners. Those of you who enjoyed the quirk and intelligence of Juno will enjoy this film by the same director.

The film stars George Clooney, who operates with his classic, Cary Grant-esque charm and aloofness, and is so natural in his portrayal that he adds a beautiful level of realism that only contributes to the humor and heartbreak of the story. Anna Kendrick plays Natalie Keener, his new colleague and a recent college graduate who is arrogant, straight-edged, and ready to wrench Clooney's company into an age where everything is done in front of a computer screen, from the comforts of your desk. Kendrick's performance flirts with caricature at times, but in the end she does a good job of filling out her character with enough complexity and surprises to keep her real.

Up in the Air is an incisive look at the state of our culture in the context of the recession and an age of executive club card holders, skype, frequent flier miles, and a strange time when it's no longer just recent graduates who feel lost, but also the many who are being laid off from jobs they've inhabited for 20 years, or those who find their lives transforming as a layer of technology settles over the way they've always done things. This is a film anyone can relate to, and it does exactly what films are supposed to do: It provides a smart, touching, and humorous perspective on our current times, helping us to see our situation in a new light, and feel just how much we all share.